U.S. NGO Consultant Jennifer Gaspar Deported From Russia After 10 Years

Jennifer Gaspar has left Russia after a court upheld an order to deport her.

A U.S. citizen who worked for NGOs in Russia and is the wife of a prominent St. Petersburg human rights lawyer, has left the country after a court upheld an order to deport her as a threat to national security.

Pavlov, a Russian citizen who heads the St. Petersburg Institute for the Development of Information Freedom and has been practicing law for nearly 20 years, said he would appeal the deportation once again, and has returned to Russia after seeing off his wife and child to the Czech capital, the report said.

In a case that critics attributed to government attempts to intimidate human rights activists, Russian migration officials told Gaspar earlier this month that her residence permit was annulled on July 21, calling her a threat to Russia's national security.

A St. Petersburg court upheld the deportation decision last week.

Gaspar worked as an independent consultant for non-governmental organizations, advising them on such issues as writing grant applications and lived in Russia for a decade.